Wednesday, July 21, 2010

YAWN. Yes, Evolution CAN be tested!

The best the fundagelicals can come up with to try to put down Darwinian Evolution (above) - insipid cartoons which totally misrepresent it (but at least have a high 'yuck yuck' factor for their resident morons!)

Incredibly, lowbrow fundies with nothing better to do with their time but make up fantasies (or idiotic cartoons depicting humans talking to relatives as monkeys - yuck yuck), are still circulating the canard that “evolution can’t be tested” or that "there’s no evidence" for it. One wonders where they’ve lived for the past 100+ years. Mayhap in caves? Evolution has been tested and re-tested and found to be consistently validated over short and long term arcs.

In the former we can see the evidence of multi-generational evolution in fruit flies (Drosophilia Melanogaster) and even track the phenotype changes and alterations with those of the genotype. (Especially as the organisms' reproduction responds rapidly to external mutations.) In the latter, we have actual photographic evidence assembled for the telomeric fusion of the 2p and 2q chromosomes in apes, to become the ‘2’ chromosome in humans. In other words, prima facie evidence of a common ancestor. (See, e.g.: Yunis and Prakash, 1982, Science, Vol. 215, p. 1525, 'The Origin of Man: A Chromosomal Pictorial Legacy')

Then we have the evidence from the DNA (genomic) sequencing of the human and chimpanzee which discloses the remarkable fact that BOTH have the exact SAME cytochrome –c sequence! If evolution were false we’d expect the human and chimp cytochrome-c sequences to vary dramatically given that it exhibits 10^93 variations in functionality with other organisms. That is, 10 followed by ninety three zeros.

So the odds that coincidence would explain a perfect match for humans and chimps are 1 in 10 to the 93rd power!

Can ‘Murican fundies be so dumb, so damned dense that they can’t even process such simple data that most European fourth formers grasp on the first try? (Fourth form is the equivalent of Sophomores in high school, roughly)

Well, it’s either that, or they’re so blinded by their foolish faith that they can’t see scientific facts staring at them from two inches in front. Or, another possibility, they were never exposed to hard science in high school so came up without any basis for scientific inquiry, or what constitutes scientific investigation.

This makes sense when these forlorn yahoos still blabber that “death came into the world with Adam’s sin” when anyone with more than air between the ears knows death existed long before there were humans! Death, indeed, is not any “punishment” at all, but a necessary condition for evolution to unfold! Without death, new species would be unable to emerge. Original species would just hang around forever and not be displaced! Dinosaurs would still be ruling the planet and humans and their primate forbears would never have had their chance. Forget all about the nursery school tale of "Adam and Eve"!

But to the clueless fundies, since everything must revolve around their made up KJV bible and ineffective god (except when he’s performing genocide on those he doesn’t like) insist that all of reality must be orchestrated, adjusted and conform to their ancient fairy tales. So, scientific facts and data are tossed out like yesterday’s newspapers. They must, because anything that remotely challenges the fundie’s archaic and foolish belief system can’t be countenanced or tolerated. "Go away scientific facts and data, our brains are too fragile to handle the truth!"

To accept the findings of evolution, therefore, would mean conceding that their god is fictitious, and that it is evolution that explains humans and all of the world’s other organic manifestations. But rather than accept that, they trot out the idiotic “Adam and Eve” fable- which Hindu teacher Kevoor Behanan once noted, was dismissed by young Hindus (when they first heard it) as an insult to their intelligence.

Meanwhile the blathering fundagelicals endlessly yap about “all data being filtered through the preconceived, presupposed, and pre-accepted theory of evolution, without alternate explanations being considered” when that’s exactly what they do! Filter all evolutionary and micro-biological-genetic data and evidence through the impervious filters of their bibles!

Rather than counter the evidence, they dream up “supernatural theories” of creationism (or Intelligent design) which can neither be tested or falsified. Meanwhile, evolution has assembled more than 29+ evidence for macro-evolution all of which were originally set out in the context of falsifiable hypotheses, and then accepted because they passed those observational tests. See more at:

Because most fundies have never taken serious science courses, even in high school, it makes sense they’d advance stupid claims like one can have a “supernatural science”. But the very term is an oxymoron! The very success of science stems from excluding pseudo-investigations or objects of inquiry for which no practical means of testing exists. Thus, by definition, no supernatural claim or entity can be a fit subject for scientific investigation which necessitates naturalistic or physical means to approach the claim. Thus, I can use a stellar spectrograph to test the claim that some heavy elements may exist – as a result of shock waves from distant supernovas- in some molecular clouds. I can’t do that if the clouds are claimed to be supernatural in origin, since the principle of spectroscopy is predicated upon different refractions of electromagnetic waves – an actual physical manifestation.

Other ignorance which repeats in the fundies’ screeds is:

“the origin of the universe and the origin of life cannot be tested or observed. Both creation and evolution are faith-based systems in regards to origins”

Which confuses evolution (a totally BIOLOGICAL theory) with cosmo-genesis and ontogenesis,: the first a wholly PHYSICAL-MATHEMATICAL theory, and the second, extrapolated from evolution but not yet proven as evolution has been! Then these numb nuts wonder why we don’t take them seriously. Well, doh! At least try to get the theories you're criticizing straight for once! Mixing them up merely shows you to be simpletons. (Just as confusing the concept of entropy for open and closed system when you jabber about "the 2nd law of thermodynamics". Try taking an online course in physics for once, as opposed to copying and pasting from fundagelical apologist sites!)

Still, despite the fact that cosmo-genesis and ontogenesis have no physical evidence yet, they do have mathematical and bio-chemical support, respectively, to show innate plausibility, which is the next best thing. Papers have actually been published on the subject of mathematically plausible spontaneous cosmic inception in professional, peer-reviewed journals (See, e.g. Padmanabhan, T. 1983, ‘Universe Before Planck Time – A Quantum Gravity Model', in Physical Review D, Vol. 28, No. 4, p. 756.) In respect of ontogenesis, we have identified so- called pleuro-pneumonia like organisms or PPLOs for short. The PPLO is as close to the theoretical limit of how small an organism (as predicted by ontogenesis hypotheses- such as that the first ever cells were suspended colloidal micro-spheres ) can be. We also have other evidence that the first primitive organisms were prokaryotic autotrophs. (See: Holland, H.D.: Evidence for Life on Earth More Than 3850 Million Years Ago, in Science, Vol. 275, 3 January, 1997, p. 38.)

Meanwhile, the fundies have neither a mathematical underpinning, or necessary- sufficient conditions to back up their claim of a supernatural origin to the cosmos or to biological “creation”. All they have is their mistranslated, deliberately make- believe bible and their never ending mouths or keyboards - or citations of people (e.g. Rev. John Polkinghorne, a former scientist - now turned Anglican Minister (since 1979)or Michael Behe - a proven ID clown with no clout, period) to try to make specious cases. Which shows that anyone can make any claims, but backing them up is another thing altogether. Clearly, the fundies and their minions will never be able to show how a "supernatural" entity can be accommodated in any real science. How can they when they can't even show their inane KJV bible can be accommodated in the real world? I mean, living for three days in a Whale's belly without being digested by its stomach acid? Give me a freakin' break! And then these clowns have the gall to make fun of evolutionists? Well, hey - at least they know how to make themselves look like the buffoons and monkey's uncles they with their whacked out nonsense cartoons (see that shown above)

1 comment:

No sane or thinking person would ever cite John Polkinghorne or Michael Behe as authorities. But when you realize that other than their KJVs they have nothing, you can understand why they're desperate.

Polkinghorne left physics (and the ROyal Society) more than three decades ago to become an Anglican Minister so no surprise he'd endorse a creation origin. He probably had to leave physics because his colleagues couldn't tolerate his supernatural stuff any longer.

As for Behe, what can I say? His credibility was demolished back in 1999 when the notorious "Wedge document" was released by the Discovery Institute and posted on the Net. The DI (and Behe) didn't disavow it. The document is basically an admission that ID was invented to cause political and societal rifts and add to the culture wars by pseudo-validating a "theory" that can't be tested scientifically. They even admit it.

It is sad that we can't expect people to have enough intellect to separate noise from signal without having to be taught how. But we know critical thinking has never been part of the American educational curriculum.

About Me

Specialized in space physics and solar physics, developed first astronomy curriculum for Caribbean secondary schools, has written twelve books - the most recent: Modern Physics: Notes, Problems and Solutions; and earlier,: BEYOND ATHEISM, BEYOND GOD, ;Astronomy & Astrophysics: Notes, Problems and Solutions', 'Physics Notes for Advanced Level&#39, Mathematical Excursions in Brane Space, Selected Analyses in Solar Flare Plasma Dynamics; and 'A History of Caribbean Secondary School Astronomy'. It details the background to my development and implementation of the first ever astronomy curriculum for secondary schools in the Caribbean.